Mekedatu Reservoir Project

Mekedatu Reservoir Project Latest News

The Karnataka Chief Minister recently said that 2,500 acres of land have been identified for the Mekedatu project, of which only 500 acres of private land belonging to farmers needs to be acquired.

About Mekedatu Reservoir Project

• It is a multi-purpose (drinking water and power) project involving the construction of a balancing reservoir near Kanakapura in the Ramanagara district, Karnataka. 
• It is about 90 km away from Bengaluru and 4 km ahead of the border with Tamil Nadu.
• The project is proposed at the confluence of the Cauvery River with its tributary Arkavathi.
• The plan involves building a 99-metre-high, 735-metre-long concrete gravity dam, an underground powerhouse, and a water conductor system.
• It will have a capacity to store 67 tmcft of water.
• The project envisages using 4.75 TMC of water annually for drinking-water supply to Bengaluru and surrounding areas and generating approximately 400 MW of hydropower. 
• Once built, the Mekedatu dam will submerge more than 5,000 hectares of protected area in the Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary.

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Mekedatu Project Issue

• The dispute over the project is rooted in the broader Cauvery water-sharing conflict between Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.  
• Tamil Nadu, the lower riparian state, has been opposing the project, raising apprehensions that the state would be affected if the project takes shape. 
• Tamil Nadu says, Mekedatu area represents the last free point in Karnataka from where Cauvery water flows unrestricted into Tamil Nadu, and the Mekedatu dam project is an attempt by Karnataka to block this free flow of water.

News: NIE